Ludo van Denderen is a motorsport journalist at GPblog, specializing in Formula 1 and international racing series.
With his outstanding performance at the Brazilian Grand Prix, Liam Lawson has made an even stronger case for a seat at Racing Bulls in 2027. However, the Italian team has still not made a final decision on whether he will stay, GPblog understands.
Third on the grid (helped in part by penalties for rivals), an excellent opening stint and, ultimately, seventh place ahead of Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton. In the wet conditions in São Paulo, Liam Lawson may have enjoyed the best Grand Prix of his career.
The New Zealander could not have picked a better time to do it. A week after causing considerable frustration within the Red Bull family with an unnecessary battle against Max Verstappen during a practice session, Lawson showed his raw speed in the most challenging conditions.
If Racing Bulls had any doubts about extending Lawson’s contract, his performance in São Paulo may well have dispelled them. But no final decision has been made yet, although it will not be long now. The current season will be over in a few weeks, and attention will already have to turn to 2027.
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Lawson has Permane’s backing
Alan Permane, Racing Bulls’ team principal, is a fan of Lawson. The Briton is thought to be leaning towards extending the New Zealander’s contract. Lawson’s comments suggest that Permane is not the only person who needs to support the decision.
“I think Alan has been incredibly supportive of me, and I really appreciate that,” Lawson said on Sunday in São Paulo. “I’ve enjoyed working closely with him and the team this year.” After a brief pause, he added: “But of course, it’s a big organisation.”
That last remark could be interpreted to mean that, for example, Red Bull Racing has a say in whether Lawson is chosen. The team, for its part, says it does not get involved in deciding who should drive for its sister team. “The decisions about Racing Bulls’ drivers are Racing Bulls’ own,” says team principal Laurent Mekies.
“Of course, we have a shared junior programme and are in a unique position. When good drivers develop at Racing Bulls, we have the opportunity to promote them to Red Bull Racing. We did that with Max [Verstappen] and also with Isack [Hadjar]. But how they get to that point is up to Racing Bulls. They decide how the drivers develop during their time in Formula 1.”
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